AP Environmental Science Chapters 1-4 Flashcards

962037309	ecosystem	A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit.
962037310	biotic	All the living organisms that inhabit an environment.
962037311	abiotic	Include all the non-living things in an ecosystem (example: light, temperature, and soil composition).
962037312	ecosystem servies	all processes through which natural ecosystems help sustain human life.
962037313	environmental indicators	Describe the current state of an environmental system
962037314	sustainability	Being able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
962037315	genetic diversity	the amount of variation in the genetic material within all members of a population
962037316	species diversity	The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community.
962037317	ecosystem diversity	The variety of Ecosystems within a given region
962037318	speciation	Formation of a new species
962037319	anthropogenic	Caused or produced by humans
962037320	development	Improvement in human well-being through economic advancement
962037321	biophilia	Love of life
962037322	ecological footprint	A way of measuring how much of an impact a person or community has on the earth.
962037323	environmental justice	A social movement and field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society.
962105385	acid	A substance that increases the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution.
962105386	base	A substance that decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution.
962105387	pH	(logarithmic) measure of acidity or basicity of aqueous solution
962105388	first law of thermodynamics	Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another
962105389	second law of thermodynamics	When two bodies at different temperatures are placed in contact with each other, heat will flow from the warmer body to the cooler body until a final equilibrium temperature is reached.
962105390	energy quality	A measure of an energy's source's ability to do useful work.
962105391	open system	A system that allows for the exchange of energy and matter across its boundaries.
962105392	closed system	A system in which no matter is allowed to enter or leave
962105393	negative feedback loop	A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring
962105394	positive feedback loop	A feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified.
962105395	CFC's	Chlorofluorocarbons; contributes to ozone destruction and greenhouse gases
962105396	GDP	Gross Domestic Product - the total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy
962105397	GPI	GPI: Genuine Progress Indicator= GDP + Benefits not included in market transactions (ie volunteering) - harmful environmental and social costs
962105398	Kuznets Curve	model that suggests that as per capita income in a country increases, environmental degradation first increases and then decreases
962105399	microlending	The process of providing very small loans (usually $50-$500) to poor people to facilitate their starting a small enterprise and becoming economically self-sufficient.
962105400	natural capital	Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support our economies
962128678	human capital	People's capacity for labor and their individual knowledge and skills.
962128679	manufactured capital	all goods and services that humans produce
962128680	environmental worldview	a set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be
962128681	anthropocentric	treating humans as preeminent: regarding humans as the universe's most important entity
962128682	biocentric	Life centered, a theory of moral responsibility that states that all forms of life have an inherent right to exist.
962128683	ecocentric	a worldview that places equal value on all living organisms and the ecosystems in which they live
962128684	stewardship	A philosophy that holds that humans have a unique responsibility to manage, care for, and improve nature.
962128685	precautionary principle	When a threat is of serious environmental damage, we should not wait for scientific proof before taking action.
962128686	UN	United Nations - An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
962128687	World Bank	United Nations - agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments
962128688	WHO	World Health Organization - United Nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services
962128689	EPA	Environmental Protection Agency - independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment
962128690	OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration - insures that employees do not suffer harm from occupational exposure
962169714	Department of Energy	Department of Energy - Directs overall energy plan for the nation
962169715	autotrophs	Organisms that are able to make their own food
962169716	heterotrophs	An organism that gets its energy (organic food molecules) by consuming other organisms.
962169717	photosynthesis	Plants use the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars
962169718	cellular respiration	Plants convert glucose and oxygen into energy
962169719	trophic levels	Each step in a food chain or food web.
962169720	food web	A diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
962169721	scavengers	Carnivores that consume dead animals
962169722	detritivores	Decomposers - get their energy from the cells and tissues of dead organisms
962169723	GPP	gross primary productivity, total amount of energy that the plants in an ecosystem fix
962169724	NPP	Net Primary Production = GPP - cellular respiration
962169725	biomass	the total mass of living matter in a given area
962169726	standing crop	the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time
962169727	ecological efficiency	the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another
962169728	trophic pyramid	representation of distribution of biomass/energy among trophic levels
962169729	biogeochemical cycles	Cycles of matter that involve biological, geological, and chemical interactions
962169730	hydrologic cycle	The cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves
962169731	transpiration	Evaporation of water from plants
962169732	evapotranspiration	Combination of evaporation and transpiration
962169733	runoff	water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground
962169734	macronutrients	Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which are necessary for building and maintaining body tissues and providing energy for daily activities
962169735	limiting nutrient	Single essential nutrient that limits productivity in an ecosystem
962169736	nitrogen fixation	Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia
962169737	denitrification	Conversion of nitrate or nitrite to nitrogen gas by bacteria in soil.
962236027	assimilation	Assimilation is the process by which plants and animals incorporate the nitrate and ammonia formed through nitrogen fixation and nitrification
962236028	leaching	Downward movement of materials in soil
962236029	watershed	An ecosystem where all water runoff drains into a single body of water
962236030	resistance	measure of how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter
962236031	resilience	rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance
962236032	instrumental value	Something that has worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal
962236033	intrinsic value	something that has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans
962236034	provisions	goods that humans can use directly
962236035	troposphere	layer of atmosphere closest to Earth where weather occurs
962236036	stratosphere	2nd layer of atmosphere where ozone layer is located
962236037	albedo	Percent of sunlight reflected by a surface
962236038	adiabatic heating	When air sinks towards earth's surface, the pressure on it increases. The higher pressure forces the air to decrease in volume, and this decrease raises the temperature of the air.
962236039	adiabatic cooling	The cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands.
962236040	latent heat release	The release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water.
962236041	Hadley cells	convection current in the atmosphere that cycles between the equator and 30° N and 30° S.
962236042	polar cells	convection cell in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60° N and 60° S and sinks at the poles
962236043	ITCZ	Intertropical Convergence Zone - Area of Earth that receives the most intense sunlight, where the ascending branches of the 2 Hadley cells converge.
962236044	Coriolis Effect	Deflection of an object's path due to Earth's rotation
962236045	gyres	Giant circular ocean currents
962236046	upwelling	Is the rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water.
962263053	thermohaline circulation	an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water
962263054	ENSO	El Nino Southern Oscillation - trade winds weaken & warm surface water moves toward South America
962263055	rain shadow	A drier area on the leeward side of a mountain range
962263056	biomes	A large geographic area that depends on climate and soil type
962263057	permafrost	Layer of permanently frozen subsoil in the tundra
962263058	tundra	A cold, dry region where trees cannot grow.
962263059	boreal forest	A forest made up of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons.
962263060	chaparral	Shrubland with plants adopted to drought and fire
962263061	benthic zone	bottom of an aquatic ecosystem
962263062	coral bleaching	A phenomenon in which algae inside corals die, causing the corals to turn white.
962263063	photic zone	The portion of an aquatic ecosystem that is shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate
962263064	aphotic zone	Dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone where sunlight does not penetrate.
962263065	chemosynthesis	Process by which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates